Dead Magic Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 I enjoyed the main event more than every match on both nights of WK. The New Japan "epic" done right with that classic Tanahashi magic mixed with the NEVER style over the course of 35 minutes that just flew by for me. My MOTY at the moment. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 (edited) Spoiler That Made in Japan was fucking nasty seeing Hiroshi Tanahashi dropped on his head. Kevin Kelly's "Jesus Christ!" said it all with both Takagi and Red Shoes checking the Ace was okay straight away. No replay either. I had high hopes going into Shingo Takagi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi and I wasn't let down. What a match with the right victor. Hiroshi Tanahashi the new NEVER Openweight Champion. Hope he gets a long run. Not sure if it's my MOTY. Need to reflect on that with Shingo Takagi/Jeff Cobb, Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito and Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White from Wrestle Kingdom 15. Edited January 31, 2021 by The Natural 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spontaneous Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 I gotta say, I'm fully on the Great-O-Khan bandwagon. I think as he grows more in the ring he'll be a top guy. Tenzan's moonsault was nuts! I always love how the spread out nature of the New Beginning tour allows for these matches that wouldn't fit on other shows. On the other hand, I'm not looking forward to EVIL-Okada. It'll be Togo choking Okada and Okada having EVIL in the money clip for 20 minutes. I'm looking forward to BUSHI-Wato more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Otto Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 (edited) Shingo-Cobb and Shingo-Tanahashi are my two MOTY so far, with the other top WK matches not far behind. Shingo Takagi is incredible at this point in time. I mean, it is that far-fetched to think that he may have a shot at winning the 2021 New Japan Cup? If Evil can actually win the IWGP title, and both Sanada and Evil can clearly be called on to be contenders at any time, it's kind of insulting that Takagi can't be at least at that level. They gave the New Japan Cup to ZSJ not so long ago, which I thought was tremendous, and kind of a "striking when the iron was hot" kind of deal, if I recall. So now there appears to be a similar aura around Shingo, but who knows if they'll go through with it. That's how I'd book it, though. I have to admit, I have no problem at all with Great O-Khan. I like that he's fairly basic and that he's slowly building up his arsenal of unique moves and creative flourishes. It may take a while, but it seems like he has the right mindset. I have to imagine that this year, or when the crowds finally come back in a substantial way, is when Tenzan will hang it up. He really put forth the effort in that O-Khan match. I'm assuming in his final match, he'll pull out the chops one more time for the huge pop and it will be a really triumphant way to send him off. Okay, I feel like I shouldn't say this, but I will: Tanahashi holding the NEVER title is an almost perfect forbidden door for the belt collector Omega to find his way back to New Japan. Ibushi's other tag partner, Tanahashi: the man who closed the door on Omega. It would only really take one match to do it as well. As much as it may seem to be fantasy booking, it is also a story that seems to have bizarrely written itself. It does make me wonder. Edited February 2, 2021 by Evil Otto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archibald Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 White is back and we are likely getting White/Ishii at Castle Attack. 2 hours ago, Evil Otto said: Shingo-Cobb and Shingo-Tanahashi are my two MOTY so far, with the other top WK matches not far behind. Shingo Takagi is incredible at this point in time. I mean, it is that far-fetched to think that he may have a shot at winning the 2021 New Japan Cup? If Evil can actually win the IWGP title, and both Sanada and Evil can clearly be called on to be contenders at any time, it's kind of insulting that Takagi can't be at least at that level. Well Evil is homegrown and both of them are 4-5 years younger than Shingo. When ZSJ won he was like 30 years old I think. Can he win, can he challenge? Sure, but NJPW rarely gives big wins to someone just because he is having great matches. There must be some additional upside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spontaneous Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 I think Ospreay is winning the NJ Cup but I can see Shingo win it too. I think Ospreay is more likely and will help establish The Empire. I don't want Omega back in NJPW right now. I have never been a fan of his though. Khan is taking the belt at Castle Attack, I can't see him losing twice to Tanahashi in big matches. It's a shame, I'd like to see him have a few more openweight matches. It's Khan's time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted February 2, 2021 Author Share Posted February 2, 2021 Meltzer: The Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shingo Takagi match from yesterday's New Japan New Beginning in Nagoya is worth going out of your way to see. It's a classic match. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted February 2, 2021 Author Share Posted February 2, 2021 Weird seeing Zack Sabre Jr without his usual ZSJ trunks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spontaneous Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Spoiler Jay White and GOD challenged Ishii, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi for the 6 man Never Openweight championship after the main event today. No date announced yet but GOD has matches already for both main New Beginning shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kang Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 I think a general NJPW thread would be good, while big events still get their own thread. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spontaneous Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Yeah, I'm just using this as a catch all for the New Beginning tour. Didn't want to clog up the main thread since njpw dominates the news cycle as is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archibald Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 On 2/2/2021 at 8:52 PM, D.Z said: I think a general NJPW thread would be good, while big events still get their own thread. I guess, but question is what we consider "big"? WK, G1, Dominion, BotSJ? NJ Cup maybe? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Otto Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 15 hours ago, Archibald said: I guess, but question is what we consider "big"? WK, G1, Dominion, BotSJ? NJ Cup maybe? Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes...and Castle Attack! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 I have a soft spot for King of Pro-Wrestling giving us Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki in 2012, ***** and Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi a year later, *****. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 Dave Meltzer gave Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shingo Takagi *****. 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted February 8, 2021 Author Share Posted February 8, 2021 LOL. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 Think this will be an unpopular take: I don't like/can't get into SANADA or EVIL. Popular take: I HATE the Skull End. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spontaneous Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 14 hours ago, The Natural said: Think this will be an unpopular take: I don't like/can't get into SANADA or EVIL. Popular take: I HATE the Skull End. EVIL really stopped being interesting after his turn last year. His current style is dull. He has no chemistry with Bullet Club. I think it was the right choice at the time but didn't pan out. The Togo interference is not good. He was a good brawler that punished people. Do that again! I'm typing this up wearing my Darkness Club shirt so it's coming from a place of love. This feud with Okada sucks. Honma-Naito and Wato-Bushi have more intrigue. Sanada, man, I keep waiting for him to take it to the next level. I believe both are more popular in Japan though. He needs a new big move to make western audiences get behind him. The Skull End/moonsault combo isn't it. He has an odd style of charisma to him that I think doesn't always come through on the screen. I could see him beat Ibushi. Most first time reigns only get a single defense. Though given Ibushi's stuff with Hiromu and Sho that we are getting Ibushi vs Hiromu at the anniversary show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 I think the earliest Kota Ibushi might lose the IWGP Heavyweight Championship/IWGP Intercontinental Championship is at Dominion. Really though, I think this reign is going into Wrestle Kingdom 16. If Wrestle Kingdom is two nights again and Golden Star defends on the traditional 4th of January date, he'll have held it an entire year joining great names like Big Van Vader, The Great Muta, Shinya Hashimoto, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spontaneous Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 I imagine Dominion would be an Okada defense. I wonder who will challenge Ibushi at Castle Attack. Okada, White, Evil and Ishii seem out. Too early for a Naito rematch. Doesn't feel like there are any quite yet that would be fresh. Ospreay or Shingo seem likely NJ Cup picks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Spontaneous said: I imagine Dominion would be an Okada defense. I wonder who will challenge Ibushi at Castle Attack. Okada, White, Evil and Ishii seem out. Too early for a Naito rematch. Doesn't feel like there are any quite yet that would be fresh. Ospreay or Shingo seem likely NJ Cup picks. Goto ;). Edited February 10, 2021 by The Natural 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kang Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 I am fine with EVIL and SANADA and Khan. Anyway maybe Sanada will win and join Kota on the top or maybe he will lose and become Gotoh 2.0 role wise as in never winning the double crown yet keep challenging on for that title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Otto Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 All I can really add is to concur that the Skull End is indeed awful. Sanada needs a flashy finisher, something that accentuates his athleticism. Top rope elbow drop, you know, something fairly basic that looks fabulous when he executes it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenalysis Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 Moonsault is perfect though you can only do moonsaults for so long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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